Friday, September 30, 2016

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte today (September 30, 2016) compared his campaign to kill criminals to the Holocaust, saying he would like to "slaughter" millions of addicts just like Adolf Hitler "massacred" millions of Jewish people, according to the Washington Post website.

"Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now, there are three million drug addicts... I'd be happy to slaughter them," he told reporters.

"You know my victims, I would like to be, all criminals, to finish the problem of my country and save the next generation from perdition," he said.

Since Duterte swept to power in July, more than 3,300 Filipinos have been killed -- either gunned down by police in late-night drug operations or felled by assassins -- often after being named by police. (An estimated six million Jewish people were killed in the Holocaust.)

The Russian Orthodox Church is seeking to make all abortions in Russia illegal. To that end, Patriarch Kirill has signed a petition that will be given to Russian president Vladimir Putin, the Christian Headlines website reports today (September 30, 2016).

Patriarch Kirill, who described abortion as being "truly a national catastrophe carrying away the lives of more than one million of our fellow citizens every year," hopes to get one million people to sign the petition. Thus far, 300,000 people have signed it.

The petition would ban all forms of abortion, including surgical and drug-induced. It would also ban the morning-after pill.

In 2014, there were about one million abortions in Russia, but that does not include the number of abortions at private clinics.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

A leading human rights group has accused the government of Sudan of carrying out at least 30 chemical weapons attacks in the Jebel Marra area of Darfur since January, the Euro News website reports today (September 29, 2016).

Amnesty International estimates up to 250 people may have died after exposure to the chemical weapons agents.

The group says hundreds of villages have been attacked since mid-January this year.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Pope Francis today (September 28, 2016) said those bombing civilians in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo will be "accountable to God" for their actions, as he renewed his appeals for peace amid an intensifying civil war in that country, according to the Religion News website.

Also today, the pontiff asked a Catholic charity to auction the cars used on a recent trip to Poland and use the proceeds to help Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

The pope's emotional appeal for peace in Syria -- now in its sixth year of a civil war that has resulted in over 300,000 deaths -- came during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, in which he voiced his heartfelt support and prayers for the people of Aleppo.

The pope expressed his "deep sorrow and concern for what is happening in that battered city, where children, the elderly, the sick, young and old are all dying" among air and ground offensive -- including bombing of hospitals -- by the Syrian government.

The White House has authorized an additional 600 troops to Iraq to help train and advise Iraqi forces as they prepare to retake the critical city of Mosul from Islamic State militants this fall, the USA Today website reports today (September 28, 2016).

The increase would raise the authorized number of of American troops in Iraq to more than 5,000.

"The coalition will continue to increase the pressure on ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) in Mosul and whenever it seeks refuge in Iraq," Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said in a statement.

He said the troops would provide logistics and maintenance support in addition to training and advising Iraq's military forces. Mosul -- Iraq's second largest city -- was captured by the Islamic State in 2014.

Poland looks set to commit a near total ban on abortion to law, after its Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of tougher legislation which has been supported by the Catholic Church, the Catholic News website reports today (September 27, 2016).

On September 23, 267 members of the Polish Parliament's lower house voted in favor of a bill that would allow terminations only if the mother's life was at risk.

The anti-abortion bill -- drawn up by pro-life citizen groups and brought before Parliament by the governing Law and Justice Party -- would also make women who had an abortion liable to prison terms.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Leaked documents with sensitive FBI data exclusively obtained by the Breitbart website reveal today (September 26, 2016) that 7,712 terrorist encounters occurred within the United States in one year and that many of those encounters occurred near the U.S.-Mexico border.

The incidents are characterized as "Known or Suspected Terrorist Encounters."

Some of the encounters occurred near the U.S.-Mexico border at ports-of-entry and some occurred in between, indicating that persons known or reasonably suspected of being terrorists attempted to sneak into the U.S. across the border.

In all, the encounters occurred in higher numbers in American states that border Mexico.

Over 70 American academics and political commentators have signed an open letter calling "For an Economic Boycott and Political Nonrecognition of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Territories," the Jerusalem Post website reports today (September 26, 2016).

The petition stated that although those who signed it oppose boycott of any kind inside Israel's 1967 borders, they do believe in "targeted boycott of all goods and services from all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories, and any investments that promote the Occupation."

They also called for the exclusion of settlements from U.S. trade benefits and tax exemptions.

Noted signatories of the petition included American journalist Peter Beinart and Jerusalem/US-based Hebrew University adjunct professor Bernard Avishai.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Pope Francis yesterday called for a "sincere dialogue" between Christians and Muslims as he met grieving relatives and survivors of France's Bastille Day attack, in which a jihadist ploughed his truck into a crowd, the Newsmax website reports today (September 25, 2016).

The pope -- declaring "there is no God of war" -- met 180 people who were wounded or left traumatized or bereaved by the July 14 attack in Nice, France, which claimed 86 lives.

"We need to start a sincere dialogue and have fraternal relatives between everybody, especially those who believe in a sole God who is merciful," he said, adding this was "an urgent priority."

The pope added, "We can only respond to the devil's attacks with God's works which are forgiveness, love, and respect, for the other [religion] even if they are different."

Saturday, September 24, 2016

The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) will mandate its member rabbis to require couples to sign a prenuptial agreement ensuring that husbands will not withhold a "get" ( a Jewish writ of divorce) from their wives, the Times of Israel website reports today (September 24, 2016).

The agreement -- commonly referred to as a "halachic prenup" -- generally penalizes the husband financially for refusing to give his wife a get.

Rabbi Mark Dratch -- executive vice president of the RCA, a centrist Orthodox rabbis' organization -- said the organization is mandating the longstanding fix to an intractable problem now because the Orthodox community is largely aware of and comfortable with its use.

According to halacha -- or traditional Orthodox Jewish law -- a husband must give his wife the get in order for the couple to divorce. Women whose husbands refuse to divorce them -- thus preventing them from remarrying under Jewish law -- are referred to as "agunot," Hebrew for "chained women."

Friday, September 23, 2016

Keonna Thomas, 32, of Philadelphia admitted in federal court to planning to abandon her two children -- aged seven and nine -- to fight for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Clarion Project website reports today (September 23, 2016).

She told the judge, "I believe that I'm guilty of this charge," acknowledging that the only reason she did not carry out this plan is because federal agents raided her home the day she was due to leave in 2015.

She had booked a flight to Barcelona, Spain and planned to travel to Syria from there.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the United States of supplying more weapons to Kurdish fighters in northern Syria this week, saying Washington had delivered two plane loads of arms to what Ankara considers a terrorist group, the Reuters website reports today (September 23, 2016).

Erdogan's comments are likely to add to the tension between Turkey and the United States over Syria, where Washington backs the Kurdish YPG forces against the Islamic State (IS).

Turkey is part of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State but views the Syrian Kurdish YPG and its PYD political wing as an extension of Kurdish militants who have waged a three-decade insurgency on its own soil.

Kurds are seeking to establish their own independent state in Turkey, but Erdogan is strongly opposed to a Kurdish state. Consequently, Kurds have carried out several deadly terrorist attacks in Turkey in recent months.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

U.S. Secretary of Education John King is receiving criticism for his recent statements claiming that children who are homeschooled (around 2.3 million in the U.S.) have fewer options than those enrolled in schools, the Christian Post website reports today (September 22, 2016).

King recently told reporters that while he knew many homeschooling families do it "incredibly well" and homeschooled students have had "very tremendous academic success," he believed homeschooled children are not "getting the range of options that are good for all kids."

Michael Farris, co-founder and chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association, said in a statement released yesterday that he was "disappointed" by the comments.

Farris said... "I'm disappointed that his [King's] comments imply that public schoolers have a wider range of options in education, which is simply not true. Homeschoolers are far outperforming their public schooled peers, largely due to the fact that parents know what works best for their child instead of implementing an outdated, one-size-fits-all approach that Secretary King appears to favor."

The heart of St. Padre Pio is on display in Massachusetts all this week, marking the first time the religious relic has ever left its home in Italy, the Catholic Herald website reports today (September 22, 2016).

The Lowell Sun reported that the heart would be first made available for viewing on September 21 at the Immaculate Conception Church in Lowell, Mass.

St. Padre Pio was a Capuchin friar best known for possessing the Stigmata (wounds of Jesus Christ). He died in Foggia, Italy in 1968 and was canonized by St. John Paul II in 2002.

The public may also see the heart at locations in Boston and Braintree, Mass. this week.

Hungary's prime minister -- who is adamantly opposed to accepting Muslim migrants in his country in an effort to prevent terrorist attacks -- has called for the EU (European Union) to "round up" illegal immigrants and deport them to guarded camps "on an island or North Africa," the Telegraph (British) website reports today (September 22, 2016).

Viktor Orban made the comments yesterday as he lashed out at Angela Merkel's refugee policy, saying it was unfair for Germany to try to distribute migrants across EU member states.

"This could be an island, it could be a coastal area in North Africa, but the security and supplies of that area must be guaranteed by the EU in its own interest," Orban said.

"Those who came [to Europe] illegally must be rounded up and shipped out," he added.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas announced today (September 21, 2016) that the state of Texas is withdrawing from the Obama administration's refugee resettlement program due to the administration's inability to ensure that refugees resettled in the state do not pose terror threats, according to the Fox News website.

Texas informed the Office of Refugee Resettlement in a letter that it will be withdrawing from the program on January 31, 2017.

Gov. Abbott asserted that Texas would not accept a single refugee until proper security measures are put in place.

Texas joins the states of Kansas and New Jersey, which have already rejected the refugee resettlement program due to its likelihood of increasing terror attacks.

A survey conducted last week by the European Jewish Association (EJA) and the Rabbinical Center of Europe (RCE) shows that a huge percentage of Europe's Jews are afraid to leave their homes to attend High Holy Day services this year, the Jewish Press website reports today (September 21, 2016).

Despite the increased security arrangements around Jewish institutions in Europe, 70 percent of Europe's Jews do not intend to visit synagogues on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

The survey was conducted on September 12-15, 2016 among a representative sample of 700 capital cities and communities in the periphery throughout Europe, from Britain in the west to Ukraine in the east.

The findings showed that more than 50 percent of Jewish communities across the continent reported a decline in the number of active members of the Jewish community, as a result of an increase of anti-Semitism and terror attacks.

Police in Germany have arrested a 16-year-old Syrian refugee in Cologne on suspicion of having links to ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), the Euro News website reports today (September 21, 2016).

Authorities say an initial assessment pointed to a "serious threat."

Police say the contacts of suspects living abroad with possible links to ISIS were found on the young man's mobile phone.

The fact that more than a million refugees have settled in Germany during the past year has raised concerns over the nation's security.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam of Lebanon warned yesterday that his country was in "serious danger" to the point of facing collapse as a result of the ongoing rush of Syrian refugees, the Jewish Press website reports today (September 20, 2016).

Speaking in New York at the 71st session of the United Nations General Asembly (UNGA) on the global refugee crisis, Salam said: "My country is in serious danger. What the Lebanese have done by harboring one million and a half Syrians for a population of four million is unprecedented."

Salam insisted that the UN "draft within three months a detailed logistical mapping of the return in safety and dignity of the Syrians now in Lebanon to Syria..."

The Lebanese government chose not to establish camps for Syrian citizens fleeing the civil war into Lebanon, and they have settled instead throughout the country.

Monday, September 19, 2016

Hungary has become the world's first nation to open an office specifically to address the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Europe, the Christian Headlines website reports today (September 19, 2016).

"Today, Christianity has become the most persecuted religion, where out of five people killed for religious reasons, four of them are Christians," Hungary's Minister for Human Capacities, Zoltan Balog, said.

The move sets a precedent on the international stage.

Hungary's Prime Minister Victor Orban -- who is opposed to Muslim refugees settling in Hungary -- said, "If we really want to help, we should help where the real problem is... We should first help the Christian people before Islamic people."

Ahmad Khan Rahami -- the 28-year-old man wanted by police for his suspected role in the bombing on September 17 in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan -- has been taken into custody, the Alternet website reports today (September 19, 2016).

Police had also linked the explosion the same day in Seaside Heights to Rahami, as well as two devices found in Elizabeth, New Jersey to Rahami. Twenty-nine people were injured in Chelsea.

Police say that Rahami was identified using surveillance video in Chelsea.

Rahami -- a naturalized American citizen originally from Afghanistan who lives in Elizabeth -- was wounded during the shootout with police in Linden, New Jersey. Two officers were also shot, one in the chest -- though spared serious injury by a bulletproof vest -- the other in the hand.

Several hundred people carrying banners and flags marched through the Serbian capital as helicopters flew above. Police with attack dogs secured the area, which was sealed off to traffic for hours ahead of time.

No incidents were reported and gay rights activist Boban Stojanovic said the march was held with less tension than in previous years, when far-right demonstrators clashed with police.

Serbia has sought to boost gay rights in recent years as part of its bid to join the European Union (EU). An openly gay minister was appointed to the government for the first time last month.

An ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) affiliated news agency said today (September 18, 2016) that a man who was killed after stabbing eight people last night inside a Minnesota mall was "a soldier of the Islamic State," according to the Washington Post website.

The attack occurred around 8 p.m. inside the Crossroads Mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, about 70 miles northwest of Minneapolis. The still-unnamed man was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer.

The suspect -- who was wearing a private security uniform -- made at least one reference to Allah during the attack. All of the eight victims of the attack suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and one remains at a hospital.

In a statement today, Amaq News Agency said the suspect "carried out the operation in response to calls to target citizens of countries belonging to the crusader coalition."

Saturday, September 17, 2016

A suicide bomber shouted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) and blew himself up in a packed mosque in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 25 people and wounding 30 during prayers yesterday, the Christian Today website reports today (September 17, 2016).

A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast in Payee Khan, a village in Mohmand Agency that is part of the lawless Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) bordering Afghanistan.

The group said it was a revenge attack, accusing tribesmen in the area of launching an assault on its forces and of capturing militants and handing them over to the government.

"The suicide bomber was in a crowded mosque, he shouted 'Allahu akbar' and then there was a huge blast," Naveed Akbar, deputy administrator of Mohmand Agency, told the press.

Responding to ads by "Catholics for Choice," New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan today (September 17, 22016) called on the pro-abortion group to practice truth in advertising, the Spero Forum website reports.

The prelate wrote, "The use of the name 'Catholic' as a platform to promote the taking of innocent human life is offensive not only to Catholics, but to all who expect honesty and forthrightness in public discourse."

Writing in National Right to Life News today, Dolan accused the group of seeking taxpayer funding of abortion through deception and "in the name of the Catholic faith," although the group "does not speak for the faithful."

Planned Parenthood -- the largest abortion provider in the United States -- receives some $500 million in federal subsidies annually.

Friday, September 16, 2016

The Pentagon confirmed today (September 16, 2016) that scores of US Special Operations troops have been deployed to northern Syria to help Turkey and Syrian rebels fight the Islamic State (IS) group, according to the AFP (Agence France-Presse) website.

But as footage emerged of the rebels hurling insults and threats at the American special operators, U.S. officials were forced to play down reports that the troops did not receive a warm welcome to the frontline.

Last month, Turkey launched an offensive into northern Syria dubbed "Euphrates Shield," designed to cut a major IS group supply line, and also to counter the advance of U.S.-backed Kurdish troops. The Kurds are trying to establish their own independent state in Turkey.

U.S. forces are working alongside the Syrian Kurds of the YPG in the fight against the Islamic State, but Turkey regards the group as terrorists and allies of the PKK separatist group fighting within its own borders.

Pope Francis said today (September 16, 2016) that Christians must dismiss the false notion that there is no resurrection of the dead, the Newsmax website reports.

During his mass today in Vatican City, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church said questions on what happens after death can lead to people not understanding Christianity's "logic of the future."

Believers will rise again in body and soul like Jesus Christ did following His Crucifixion, that logic follows.

"A spiritualistic piety, a nuanced piety is much easier; but to enter into the logic of the flesh of Christ, this is difficult. And this is the logic of the day after tomorrow. We will resurrect like the risen Christ, with our own flesh," the pontiff said.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

A 32-year-old Port St. Lucie, Florida man has been charged with arson in the fire at the Fort Pierce mosque where Orlando massacre shooter Omar Mateen worshiped, the Orlando Sentinel website reports today (September 15, 2016).

Joseph Schreiber was arrested yesterday afternoon in downtown Fort Pierce after investigators received two phone tips identifying him as the man seen on video leaving the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce after it was set ablaze early on September 12.

During a brief first-appearance court hearing yesterday in Fort Pierce, Schreiber was ordered to remain in custody without bond.

"We made a plea for the community to help [identify the arsonist] in this investigation and the community stepped forward and provided that," St. Lucie County Sheriff's Maj. David Thompson said during a news conference.

Unions in France have vowed to keep fighting the country's new labor law, but admitted today (September 15, 2016) that dwindling support meant months of street protests were now ending, according to the Euro News website.

In the French capital, around 40,000 people rallied. In addition to Paris, Marseille and several other French cities saw protests.

The new law -- forced through parliament in July -- aims to help France's rigid labor market become more flexible by making it easier for firms to hire and fire.

But unions say it damages hard-won worker rights. Many French workers also view the new law as a government action designed to result in union busting.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Hundreds of Israeli intellectuals and artists are urging world Jewry to challenge Israeli policy toward Palestinians, according to the Yahoo News website.

In an open letter released today (September 14, 2016), they say, "we call upon Jews around the world to join with Israeli partners for coordinated action to end the occupation."

The 470 signatures include authors David Grossman and Amos Oz, Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman, and 20 former Israeli ambassadors.

The organization "Save Israel, Stop Occupation" seeks to end Israel's control of territories it won in the 1967 Mideast war and to establish a Palestinian state. Director Jessica Montell says Israel's military rule "harms Israeli society and it harms Jews around the world."

Pope Francis has celebrated Mass in honor of murdered French priest Fr. Jacques Hamel, calling him a "martyr" and suggesting that sainthood may not be far off, the Catholic News website reports today (September 14, 2016).

Francis celebrated the Mass yesterday morning, joined by 80 pilgrims from Fr. Hamel's diocese of Rouen.

In his homily, the Pontiff called the priest "blessed," the step previous to sainthood, asking the faithful to pray for his intercession so that he "gives us the courage to say the truth: To kill in the name of God is satanic."

"This man accepted his martyrdom next to the martyrdom of Christ, on the altar," Francis said during his homily, which was interpreted into French as he was delivering it.

The Obama administration will admit 25,000 additional refugees into the U.S. next fiscal year (which begins October 1), bringing the annual total to 110,000 -- an increase of 30 percent from the original plan -- The Daily Beast website reports today (September 14, 2016).

Secretary of State John Kerry revealed the plan for an increase in refugees to Congress in a private briefing recently.

The issue of the U.S. taking in refugees has been a hotly contested one in the presidential campaign.

Republican nominee Donald Trump -- as well as millions of Americans -- are against any plan to admit more refugees into the country, citing the likelihood of increasing terror attacks. The fact that France and other countries have experienced deadly terror attacks by terrorists who pretended to be refugees must not be ignored.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

An Austrian cardinal -- who is one of the frontrunners to be the next pope -- has warned of an "Islamic conquest of Europe," the Telegraph (British) website reports today (September 13, 2016).

Cardinal Christoph Schonborn -- in a speech to mark the 333rd anniversary of the Battle of Vienna -- said: "Will there be an Islamic conquest of Europe? Many Muslims want that and say Europe is at its end."

"God have mercy on Europe and on thy people, who are in danger of forfeiting our Christian heritage," the cardinal prayed.

The speech was made on September 11 at the Holy Name of Mary church festival, which marked the 333rd anniversary of the Battle of Vienna in 1683 in which Christian forces defeated the Ottoman Empire army.

Late on the evening of September 11 -- 15 years after the worst terrorist attacks in American history -- the Islamic Center mosque of Fort Pierce, Florida was set on fire, the NY Times website reports today (September 13, 2016).

A surveillance camera recorded a man as he approached the mosque. Then came a flash as flames damaged the Islamic house of worship where the man who attacked an Orlando, Florida nightclub often prayed.

The authorities -- including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives -- were investigating the fire as a possible hate crime.

The blaze occurred on the 15th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks and nearly three months after Omar Mateen opened fire at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. It also happened around the beginning of Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Turkey has a "binding duty" to defeat the Islamic State (IS) in neighboring Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an address yesterday, the UPI website reports today (September 12, 2016).

Last month, Turkey launched an offensive to remove the Islamic State from Syria's northern border region. He called that a "first step" in the fight against the Islamic State.

He also said Turkey would defeat the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), and the supporters of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Erdogan added that Gulen and his followers were behind the July 15 attempted coup in Turkey. Gulen lives in self-imposed exile in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, and Turkey has been negotiating with the United States on his extradition.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Some 10,000 people left the Church of Denmark between April and June, statistics from the Scandinavian country have shown, due in part to a nationwide atheist campaign urging people to question the divinity of Jesus, and the importance of believing in God, the Christian Post website reports today (September 10, 2016).

The 10,000 people who left the faith in that time period is almost double the number who did the same between January and March.

"We are pleased that Danes have taken the opportunity to express what they actually want. We have long seen in surveys that there aren't that many Danes who are devout Christians," said Anders Stjernholm, Chairman of the Danish Atheist Society.

"So I view [the withdrawals] as an expression of the fact that people can't really see why we should have an institution like the Church of Denmark that has such an incredible influence and takes one's money," he added.

A rabbi and another Orthodox Jewish man were arrested in New York City in connection with a plot to kidnap and murder a man whose wife wanted ti divorce him, the Reuters website reports today (September 8, 2016).

Israel-based Orthodox rabbi Aharon Goldberg, 55, and Shimen Liebowits, 25, were taken into custody in Central Valley, New York, while meeting to discuss the murder plot on September 6.

They were charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder for hire.

Prosecutors said Goldberg and Liebowitz recruited an individual to carry out the crimes because the man refused to issue his wife a "get" -- a document to allow his wife to divorce him. An Orthodox Jewish woman cannot get a religious divorce or remarry unless her husband consents to a get, or if he dies.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has finally admitted that her much maligned open door police on migrants was a mistake, the Christian Today website reports today (September 7, 2016).

"We didn't embrace the problem in an appropriate way," Merkel said today.

"In Germany we ignored the problem for too long and blocked out the need to find a pan-European solution," she added, marking an implicit reversal of her motto "We can do this."

Last year alone, Germany welcomed 1.1 million refugees. Many of the refugees have abused German hospitality and committed crimes, including rape and molestation of German women, sparking unrest and protest among a plethora of Germans.

The Syrian regime has used poison gas on its civilians in an attack on a rebel-held area of Aleppo, the Newser website reports today (September 7, 2016).

The Syrian Civil Defense rescue group says barrel bombs containing chlorine gas were dropped on the shattered city's Sukkari neighborhood, causing at least 80 people to have severe breathing difficulties.

Dozens of children are among the injured, and the rescue group has released disturbing footage showing some of them gasping and wheezing as they are given oxygen masks.

"Most of those injured were women and children," a first responder from the rescue group told the press. He added that a Syrian government helicopter dropped barrels containing four chlorine cylinders on the crowded neighborhood.

Five women were sexually assaulted by three asylum seekers in Germany, as police say the migrants threatened to beat the women with beer and champagne bottles if they refused to have sex with them, the Breitbart website reports today (September 7, 2016).

The attack occurred in the early morning of September 3 in the German city of Hildesheim as the trio of migrants approached at least five different women, trying to kiss them, grope them, and have sex with them.

Police say that the attackers are 16 and 17 years old and live at a nearby hotel that has been turned into an asylum accommodation.

Three men on the street noticed the attacks on the women and alerted police. Police arrested two of the three migrants -- a 16-year-old Afghani and a 17-year-old Iranian. The third attacker managed to escape and police are still looking for him.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

After years of being denied the right to build churches due to unnecessary pro-Islamic hindrances, the Coptic Orthodox Church -- Egypt's largest Christian Church -- has welcomed a new Egyptian law to facilitate the building of Christian places of worship, the Catholic News website reports today (September 6, 2016).

On August 30 Egypt passed a law codifying the rights of Christians to build and renovate churches in the mostly Muslim country.

Under the new law -- approved by the Egyptian parliament -- regional governors must rule within four months on Christian church-building and renovation applications, and provide a "justified decision," subject to appeal, if refusing authorization.

"There have been some criticisms, but the government has tried to resolve any problems, and we now have a law which meets modern needs," said Fr. Rafic Greiche, spokesman for the Coptic Church.

In conveying a strong feeling of hatred and hostility toward Christians, terrorist group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) has named Pope Francis its number one enemy, the Christian Headlines website reports today (September 6, 2016).

According to a recent publication by the terror group, Francis is hated for being a "non-believer" and defending homosexual people.

Pope Francis also actively seeks open communication and understanding between Christians and Muslims, which ISIS has denounced.

ISIS wrote: "Completely disregarding his own Church's doctrine of judging homosexuals as immoral for engaging in the perverted act of sodomy, Francis has again sidestepped religion for the sake of public opinion."

Monday, September 5, 2016

President Obama is a "son of a bitch," Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte said today (September 5, 2016), in what may have been the most vulgar epithet ever used against a U.S. president by a foreign president, according to the Washington Examiner website.

Duterte said he would swear at Obama at a scheduled meeting (which Obama has now canceled) if the president raises the issue of extrajudicial killings of drug suspects in the Philippines.

Around 2,400 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed without trial, in a drug war Duterte launched after taking office in June. His efforts have won public support, but the killings have been criticized by Obama.

Duterte said, "I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony. I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful...."

At least six explosions in Syrian cities killed more than 43 people today (September 5, 2016), according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, most of which targeted government-controlled areas.

Bombs were detonated in Tartus, Homs, Damascus, and Hasakeh around the same time.

More than 30 of the victims were likely killed in two bombs that were detonated in Tartus, while another eight were killed when an ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) militant on a motorcycle blew himself up in Hasakeh.

Saturday, September 3, 2016

In what may be viewed as a by-product of deteriorating U.S.-Russian relations, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said this week that a division of troops would soon be stationed in Chukotka, Russia's Far East region, about 50 miles from Alaska, the Yahoo News website reports today (September 3, 2016).

"There are plans to form a coastal defense division in 2018 on the Chukotka operational direction," Shoigu said.

He added that the deployment was "to ensure control of the closed sea zones of the Kuril Islands and the Bering Strait, cover the routes of Pacific Fleet forces' deployment in the Far Eastern and Northern sea zones, and increase the combat viability of naval strategic nuclear forces."

The Bering Strait is the narrow waterway that separates Alaska from Russia.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Turkey renewed air strikes on Islamic State (IS) and Kurdish sites in Syria today (September 2, 2016), extending its operations along a 56-mile corridor near the Turkish border which Ankara says it is clearing of jihadists and protecting from Kurdish militia expansion, according to the Reuters website.

Turkey's 10-day-old offensive -- its first major incursion into Syria since its civil war began five years ago -- has alarmed the West.

The United States has voiced concern about Turkish strikes on Kurdish-aligned groups that Washington has backed in its battle against the Islamic State. Germany said it did not want to see a lasting Turkish presence in an already tangled conflict.

Turkey said it has no plans to stay in Syria and only aims to protect its frontier from the Islamic State and Kurdish armed forces.

The "Jungle" camp in the northern French town of Calais -- home to thousands of Asian and African migrants hoping to reach Britain -- will be dismantled in stages, France's interior minister pledged on September 1, the France 24 website reports today (September 2, 2016).

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told the "Nord Littoral" regional newspaper that he would press ahead with the closure "with the greatest determination," gradually dismantling the site while also creating accommodation for thousands elsewhere in France "to unblock Calais."

French authorities have made repeated efforts to shut down the infamous "Jungle" camp, which authorities say is currently home to nearly 7,000 migrants -- a sharp increase in recent months.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told France Inter Radio that two migrant camps will be built in the capital, and that both should be open by the end of September.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

As tensions grow amid police shootings of young black men and a presidential campaign rife with allegations of racism, a pastor in Sunnyvale, California is offering a venue called "Racists Anonymous" (RA) to get people talking, the Washington Post website reports today (September 1, 2016).

With the backdrop of a 12-step program, people can explore the often uncharted terrain of their own feelings about race, said Ron Buford, pastor of the Congregational Community Church in Sunnyvale.

"The first step is that you have to acknowledge that you have a problem," he said. "That is something that we as Americans don't want to do."

Eventually, Buford imagines a network stretching across the United States, so that -- like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) -- people can drop into an RA meeting wherever they go.

The world's three top Christian leaders -- Pope Francis, the archbishop of Canterbury, and the patriarch of Constantinople -- will come together later this month to pray for peace alongside Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist representatives, the Washington Post website reports today (September 1, 2016).

The Vatican released the details of the September 20 prayer day in the hilltop town of Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi, the peace-loving namesake of the pope.

Francis has followed in the footsteps of his two predecessors in traveling to Assisi for the prayer event, which is organized each year by the Catholic charity Sant'Egidio alongside Assisi's Franciscan friars.

The program calls for the religious leaders to have lunch together along with some victims of war, to pray separately, and to sign a joint appeal for peace.

About Me

I am of the Eastern Orthodox faith and a member of the Holy Trinity Hellenic Orthodox Church in Lowell, MA. I am married and the father of two grown married daughters with children, all belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church.

I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, with a concentration in International Affairs, and a Master of Education degree from Northeastern University.

I worked as an education specialist for the federal government for two decades before retiring.

Blog Goal
The primary goal of the Theology and Society blog is to provide its readers with a brief informative description of contemporary theological issues and events, and the impact they may have on society.